Why do some people think its racist to be against illegal immigration?

Question

I am dead set against illegal immigration. Anyone that supports illegal immigration or that thinks Mexicans should be allowed into the country illegal wants special treatment for them alone.

What about all the people from all the other countries that have to wait to get in LEGALLY? So therefore anyone that thinks illegal immigration is ok and that they shouldnt be deported is showing favortism towards Mexicans.

Doesnt this make you mad?

Answer 1

It is not racist to be against illegal immigration. It is racist to be against it if the reason someone is against it is because of racist reasons.

Here are some of the reasons why it is obvious that most of the people who are against illegal immigration are against it for racist reasons.

1. The same people who are against illegal immigration are also against Spanish being spoken in this country. The "Why do I have to press 1 for English" argument.

2. The same people who are against illegal immigration are also worried about the number of Hispanics in the country legally.

3. Many of the people against illegal immigration are also against legal immigration from Hispanic countries, especially Mexico.

4. Most of the people against illegal immigration are only against illegal Mexican immigration. You post, for example, claims that all illegal immigration is from Mexico while most illegal immigration is really from somewhere else.

5. Some people say that all illegal immigrations are drug pushers, are responsible for US terrorism, or cause all of the crime in this country. I have even heard 9/11 blamed on illegal Mexican immigrants. These people also claim that all illegal immigrants are on welfare. FYI: you do not qualify for welfare unless you are legal.

6. Some Republicans are fond of claiming that Democrats win election because illegal immigrants vote for them. FYI: Illegal immigrants can't vote in the US.

7. The same people who are against illegal immigrants are also against Mexican truck drivers driving in the US.


Note that there is nothing wrong with being for or against most of these issues, but when someone has a bunch of positions that can be summed up as "Mexicans bad - everyone else good", it does make that person's motives suspect. Motives are doubly suspect when one of these people go out of their way to make inaccurate claims about Mexicans, legal or otherwise.

I think that the 12 thumbs down kind of proves my point.

Answer 2

I'm not mad, but you aren't thinking entirely rationally. How much do you think deportation would cost? This website has some data: http://thinkprogress.org/2005/07/26/the-high-cost-of-deportation/

Needless to say, it's a lot. We can't afford it. I repeat, it is not possible. While I would agree that logically we should enforce the laws, and this is the logical course of action, it is not the practical or realistic one. And this doesn't even deal with the problem of keeping them out moving forward; many if not most will come back and others will keep trying. It's like moving a boulder up a hill that never ends, and we'd throw money down the drain for nothing.

And what about those that wait to get here legally? Good for them, welcome to America I say. Congratulations on placing the phone calls, getting the documentation needed, filling out the paperwork, learning English and learning American civics in order to be a good citizen. It would be great if everyone could do that, but when you're poor living in south America, you don't have the internet. You don't have a phone. You probably don't have access to money, so you can't learn English or American civics. You are incapable of fulfilling the legal requirements to immigrate here legally. But that's not going to stop them, because they don't want to come here to learn English, and American civics and get all their paperwork in order: they just want to work.

I am not showing any favoritism towards Mexico, I am simply rationalizing with the plight of an impoverished group of people that makes every effort they can to improve their lives. I know illegals living here, and I must say they have a tenacious work ethic. I'm talking 14 hour days with no breaks, not even for lunch. Such willingness to work for one's family should be rewarded, IMO.

Answer 3

when you actually have millions of people pouring into california every month from mexico, is that not an immigration problem. why is every one in mexico running into the USA? i work the same jobs as the illegal aliens, and they do not pay $15.00 an hour. i have never done anything or gone anywhere in the USA that i was not carded to show identification.
when the I.C.E. program of INS started to enforce the laws we have in one year over 350,000aliens were jailed for felony crimes. they were jailed as criminals then deported as illegal aliens.
the criminal elements need to be filtered-out of any immigration process.
our 'open-' borders need to be closed.

Answer 4

The people who get called racist are the ones who use arguments against illegal immigration that have more to do with the fact that the people are Mexican than their legal status. I don't see how having a green card would necessarily make illegal aliens any less drunk, dirty, thieving, or lazy than some people claim them to currently be.

Answer 5

With Mexican illegal immigrants outnumbering all other countries illegal immigrants over 1000 to 1 it seems to make sense that they would be the most likely to be caught. They are quite vocal in their demands that they have more rights than citizens and they are exempt from our laws. You don't hear of an Irish illegal immigrant refusing to learn the language or tearing down an American flag and replacing it with an Irish one. Mexicans are using the race card because they have NOTHING ELSE. And they don't even know that 'illegal alien' and Mexican are not races! They are criminals just looking for an excuse to commit more crimes.

Answer 6

i understand what you feel. i hate the new immigrantion plans. my mom had to wait two years to get her papers cleared to be even allowed to board the plane to get to america. the only reason that they set up this policy is that b/c they are tired of hunting down border hoppers. i don't totally agree with you on the whole "mexicans = illegel immigrants" thing though.. b/c i know that you aren't targeting them right? they aren't the only illegal immigrants here although they are the ones who are most notable for that title. i think that's the reason ppl are saying you're racist (?) i like to think of myself as not racist (since i'm not, i love hispanics) but as a person who recognizes the need to follow the rules in these kinds of situations. honestly it's just that it's the right thing to do. why should they be lucky enough to live near the US that they can border hop and other people can't? i went to my mom's citizenship cermony last month and there was this canadian guy there. he was honest enough to through the process. why not those others?

Answer 7

No one realy thinks or believes that. Anyone capable of stringing together even a grammatically incorrect sentence to that effect has enough brainpower to realize that it's false.

Those who do are simply engaging in hyperbole or outright falsehood to advance an agenda that they know is wrong. But they hope that a false accusation of wrongdoing that alludes to actual wrongdoing in the past, when combined with the fallacies of "two wrongs making a right" and "punishing the child for the crimes of the parent" will win at least some not particularly bright people over to thier side.

Answer 8

Ye, it makes me terribly angry! I have no problem with legal immigration from any country but illegal immigration is done by the greatest percent from south of the border as it is so easy to run the border. All illegals regardless of their country of origin should be deported. There are so many others who'd love the opportunity to come here legally and become citizens but with the numbers of these invaders growing, how can we afford to extend our legal immigration? The middle class is almost bankrupt now due to the taxes of supporting illegals and their children.

Answer 9

I just have to answer Samantha above me:

As a disclaimer I am half middle eastern and I will bet that my people are lower on the totem pole in regards to how the majority of Americans feel about ethnicity then Latinos.

1. We are against Spanish speaking for a multitude of reasons that have nothing to do with race. It costs TAXPAYERS money in interpreters and printing everything twice. It is a public safety hazard when the police are required to know Spanish. It is just plain time consuming - when people add up all of the times they have to wait in order to allow lazy people to refuse to learn the language it irritates us.

2. Most of us are worried about the NUMBERS here period. We are at 300+ million and growing FASTER THEN EVER BEFORE in history - that is what scares us. That growth WILL LOWER the standard of living for our children.

3. Wrong - but we do not condone favoritism as Hispanics currently have it. There should be no more Hispanics coming here just because they are closer geographically. If you think anything differently then you are showing just how RACIST YOU ARE!

4. The reason we bring up illegals from Mexico is simple - the overwhelming majority are from Mexico.

5. There are an estimated 700,000 illegal immigrants who are members of gangs. There are thousands of CITIZENS killed by illegals every year. Illegal immigrants are a HUGE deficit on our tax base. If just one illegal immigrant brings his child here the cost to taxpayers is AT LEAST $10,000 per year for their education. And they are legally allowed lots of different social services. WIC checks, free medical, school, food stamps, housing, etc. In my state they are also allowed in-state college tuition. Few state social service agencies verify status. Many illegals also have fake ID which allows them the full monte of free goodies at TAXPAYER EXPENSE.

6. FYI - It has already been proven that thousands of illegals voted in my state (WA) because they are given drivers licenses. Some (most) states do not allow this.

7. We are against Mexican truckers for many reasons. There are safety concerns. A mexican trucker can kill someone in an accident, then disappear into mexico. Their truck safety standards have already been proven to be subpar. And I certainly do not want them taking real, taxpaying, AMERICANS jobs!!!

Hopefully I cleared up that our (there are admittedly some racists in every group) stance is not racist. We are however very clear about our quality of life and we should not have to lower it to accomidate other people who refuse to respect that sacrifice no matter where they come from.

Answer 10

They think we are against "Mexicans." They consider our anger against them to be unfair treatment. They also claim that we wouldn't be upset if the illegal was "white." I think THEY are racist since they claim we wouldn't be angry at "white illegals."

HOWEVER, they don't consider that it doesn't matter if the illegal is from Canada, England or Peru, they are all criminals for being here illegally. They don't think about the fact that we are angry because they are stealing money, services, jobs and identities - they are breaking the law and demanding rights they don't have.

They also don't think about the fact that "Mexican" is not a race.

Answer 11

Yes it makes me mad.

What is it about being an essential Democratic form of government that entitles someone from another country to simply walk across the border and partake of all the full benefits this countries citizens have paid for, fought for and died for?

ILLEGAL MEANS WHAT IT SAYS!!!!!!!!!!!